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March Snow Doesn’t Slow Down the ‘Stache

Denver – Rte 36 was an ice chute.  Snow was forecasted to keep coming until midnight.  Heading down to Pete’s Monkey Bar on Colfax in Denver, we were worried that no one would show.  In Geoff’s words, “Here’s to playing for the bartender.”

Oh, we of little faith.

First, our friends from Lo Down On The Mothership took the stage.  What a great group of people – friendly and versatile, ready to have a good time.  Their fans were fun – and whole lot of them braved the wicked weather to support their Mothership.  You’d have never guessed it was just their 2nd show!  Great vibe, terrific performance, and yours truly loves any band that brings soulful keys to the stage.  Mothership got their crowd off its butt and onto the dance floor.  Yeah!

After a very quick stage turn, it was Zen Mustache’s time to spin the wheel.  We knew we had to follow with great energy after that opener, and Kyle led the way with smashing vocals on Come Together, Cripple Creek, and Into the Mystic.  Also gotta love the lyrics Kyle wrote for Zen M original tune ‘Clam Slam’.  Halfway through the first set BJ realized the crowd would riot if they couldn’t get a sax tune in, so we pulled out Chameleon on-the-fly and Mothership’s baritone sax player Josh Zeldner helped us out with some fantastic adlib.  It was the first time we really let BJ loose on the sax, I mean totally out of the cage, and my oh my that boy can fly.  If you have any liking for saxophone, you’ve got to get your ears on some of that.

Then Adrienne Rosenberg put on her clogs.  Yes, it was a first-ever clogging event down at the Monkey Bar, with Adrienne showing us all how to lay down the rhythm with her feet.  ‘Steal My Kisses’ has never sounded so worldly – I was blown away, and so were the onlookers.  You can tell when a person loves what they do, and Adrienne loves to dance.  We can’t wait to have her back for another Zen M clog-collaboration.

The night just kept climbing higher and higher, like a fairytale ladder to the moon.  Ted found the pocket and wrapped the crowd around the neck of his guitar with a raging solo on Loving Cup.  It felt like every song Justin killed his kit with previously unheard/unplayed drums fills.  Geoff, improbably, found clever ways to connect with the audience though transcendent guitar solos.  Kyle is the best kind of stage magician – one whose tricks are unexpected and relevant.  For me, it was pure privilege jamming the night away with these fine fellas.

When it was all over, it turned out the better part of 100 people wandered into Pete’s Monkey Bar and got a dose of the ‘Stache.  We agreed it was far and away the best show we’ve played together yet as a six-piece.  And we agreed there’s so much more to learn and explore and experience.  Damn, this is gonna be a fun ride…

…check out Zen Mustache’s upcoming event calendar at www.zenmustache.com

Become a piece of the story!  Create the vibe!  Ride the ‘Stache!

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